


Better Than a Glass of Warm Milk

by chemically_yours



Category: Marvel Ultimates
Genre: Alcoholism, Fluff, Insomnia, Late Night Confessions, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Ults Day, drunken propositions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-18 12:25:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12388038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chemically_yours/pseuds/chemically_yours
Summary: Nothing solves sleeping troubles like some late night cuddles.





	Better Than a Glass of Warm Milk

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Ults Day!! Technically I'm still on time since it isn't midnight here yet. Grad school has been kicking my butt, but I had to write a little something for my favorite fandom.

Steve startled awake with a shot of adrenaline that had him reaching for his shield before he was even fully aware he was no longer dreaming. He scanned the room as his harsh panting filled the space. Finding a lack of a threat, he finally allowed himself to flop back down on his brand new too big, too soft bed. He tried to think back and remember, but whatever nightmare had been plaguing him tonight was gone, disappeared into the silver beams of moonlight that slipped through his curtains. 

The nightmares had been getting worse lately, since the recent betrayals and attacks, and he knew he should probably go back to talking to the shrinks, but he hadn’t quite reached that breaking point yet. It just made him feel so damn impotent to sit and talk to them hours on end about all his thoughts and feelings. Punching through the anger had always worked just as well as talking.

His breath caught at the sound of a creaky floorboard down the hall. He glanced over at his alarm clock. The short hand pointed at 3, meaning it was either too late or too early for anyone else to be up right now. Perhaps he’d woken for a reason after all. 

He kept his footfalls light as he grabbed up his shield and crept across the room to press an ear against the door. The footsteps were coming towards him. The leather straps on the shield creaked in his grip. Steve counted down until the person was almost upon him. At zero he burst from the door prepared to face down a goon with a machine gun, only just stopping in time as he recognized a familiar mop of brown hair and the scent of top shelf scotch. 

Tony swayed before him, giving slow, tired blinks as he took in Steve standing there in front of him in nothing but his skivvies and the shield.

“I must be drunker ‘en I thought to be hallucinating a half naked Cap’n ‘Merica.”

Steve grimaced at the slurred words. He should have known. Tony had warned them all when they’d moved in that he was prone to insomnia and tended to wander at night when he couldn’t work. Probably, the nightmare had just made him extra jumpy. 

“You’re not hallucinating. It’s me. I heard the footsteps and didn’t think it could be anyone up to any good.”

Tony managed a lazy smile as his eyes trailed over Steve’s body. 

“Well, I can’t exactly argue with that. ’m hardly ever up to anything good.”

He emphasized his point with a long swallow from the glass in his hand. Steve felt his skin heating the longer Tony kept his gaze, and he fought down the blush threatening to break out. It was dark and Tony probably wouldn’t be able to see it, but Steve couldn’t shake the feeling that Tony would be able to sense the flush with his hedonistic superpowers. 

“The real question here, Cap, is what are you doing awake?”

Steve’s tired mind fumbled for an excuse, any excuse that would satisfy Tony and send him on his way. 

“Woke up, couldn’t sleep. Gonna go down to the gym I guess.”

Steve realized as he said the words that it was a good plan. He could work the adrenaline out of his system and get an early start to his day. He’d been getting less sleep than ideal lately, but one more sleepless night wouldn’t kill him. Steve waited as the silence stretched between them for Tony to wish him goodnight and continue stumbling down the hallway. Instead, Tony stared at his liquor.

“A workout, huh?” He took another sip and then looked at Steve through his lashes. His body slumped against the wall lazily with his hip jutting out to emphasize his figure. “I could help you with that. Give you a real good workout, Soldier.”

Steve’s mouth went dry and he choked on his breath. He’d mostly gotten used to Tony’s endless flirting, had even managed to come up with a few witty remarks to fire back. But that’s all it ever was. Tony had never done this before, and Steve hadn’t let himself think about what might happen if Tony was ever serious. There was a hunger in Tony’s eyes that Steve had only ever caught glimpses of in the past. Tony had never directed it his way with such intensity and Steve realized that this was a legitimate offer that Tony was handing him. The look sent a brief spike of lust shooting through him which soured just as quickly.

“You’re drunk.” His anger and disappointment gave the words a bitter taste. Tony was drunk and he didn’t actually mean it. He was just doing what he always did without care or thought. Tony’s laugh shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was still like a punch to the gut. “Darling, I’m always drunk.”

Tony leaned forward and placed a broad hand on Steve’s shoulder. Steve tried not to flinch at the touch. He kept breathing and willed down the sour twist in his stomach. Schooling his expression, he prepared to tell Tony to go to bed.

“Don’t worry, I’m not so drunk that I can’t get it up. Although if you’re not in’erested in that I can always take care of m’self in the bathroom afterwards.”

Tony leaned in until there was barely any distance left between their bodies. Steve could feel the slight tremors running through the hand on his shoulder. The scent of scotch was so strong that it was practically burning its way down his throat. Tony drank too much, but this was excess even for him. How long had it been since Tony had last slept? He’d been less and less his usual boisterous self the last few days. Had nightmares been keeping him awake at night too? 

“So how ‘bout it, Cap?”

There was a quiet desperation in Tony’s voice. It shone in his glassy, red-rimmed eyes. Steve knew that rejecting the other man would only cause him to exchange the glass in his hand for the bottle, if there was even anything left in it. His chest ached at the thought of it. Silently he grasped Tony’s hand and pulled him into his bedroom.

Lips pressed against his jaw and Tony’s beard scraped roughly against his throat. A shock of pleasure danced along Steve’s spine, stronger than he’d expected from this situation. He grabbed the glass, nearly forgotten in Tony’s hand, then turned and pushed Tony roughly to the bed. The glass would leave a ring on his nightstand but Steve figured Tony could probably afford to refinish it if it stained. He propped his shield gently against the wall before joining Tony on the bed. Tony’s hands reached for Steve’s boxers as his lips descended to his chest. Steve reluctantly halted Tony with a gentle grip on his wrist.

“I’m not having sex with you tonight.”

Tony flinched back as though the words were a physical slap. His eyes narrowed following the initial shock. Anger radiated from his tightly coiled body. “If you don’t want me, then what the fuck am I doing in your bed?” Tony spit the words at him. He moved to stand up but Steve’s hold tightened to keep him where he was. “What the hell you think you’re doing, Steve?”

“We both need to get some sleep. Might as well do it together.”

Tony stared at him in astonishment. He gaped, seemingly at a complete loss of words for once in his life. Slowly Steve relinquished his hold and dropped his hand down between them. “That is, if you want.” That jerked Tony back to the current situation. He threw Steve a half-assed attempt at a smile. 

“Not that it’s not a lovely offer, Cap, but I don’t do…that. So I’ll just be on my way now and we can never speak of this again.”

The bed creaked as Tony made a fresh attempt at leaving. Steve knew it wouldn’t be that easy, but he hadn’t actually come up with a plan to convince Tony to stay. Good thing he was great at strategizing on the fly then. 

“I’ve been having nightmares.” The words were enough to freeze Tony in his tracks. It hadn’t been what Steve meant to say, but the truth was as good a strategy as any he supposed. He plucked up his courage and soldiered on. “That’s why I was awake. I thought maybe that was why you were awake too.” The line of tension in Tony’s shoulders looked tight enough to snap. Right. Probably not a good idea to bring up Tony’s issues right now. “It’s easier with someone else sleeping next to me. Maybe that person could be you?”

Steve regretted the words almost as soon as they left his mouth. What the hell was he saying? The last line had nearly sounded like a damn proposal. Maybe he needed sleep more badly then he thought. 

Tony turned back to look at Steve. “So even super soldiers have trouble sleeping. Who would have thought?” His tone had softened and Steve let out a sigh of relief. “If you want another body beside you so badly, I can introduce you to some very lovely lady friends of mine. Very high class, I assure you. No need to settle for the team drunk.”

Instead of answering directly, Steve wrapped his arms around Tony and guided him down to lay beside him on the bed. He remembered the warmth and softness of Jan curled around him until only recently. Tony was nothing like her but he still brought Steve comfort all the same. 

“Do you really think I’m settling here?” 

Steve tightened his hold on Tony and pressed his lips into the curls tickling at his face. “I’m not. And you’re not just a warm body, Tony.” Tony’s voice shook in the quiet of the night.

“You know things would be a hell of a lot less complicated if you would just let me blow you. Orgasms are a great cure for sleepless nights.”

Amusement won out over frustration at Tony’s one-track mind. The man simple didn’t give up. Steve had to admire that character trait. Steve smiled wide enough for Tony to feel it pressed into his neck. 

“If you’re that determined then we can talk about it in the morning.”

Somewhere from the depths of the mansion a grandfather clock struck the hour. Technically it already was morning, but Steve was trying not to think about that. He might get another three or four hours of sleep until the sun woke him up. 

“You wouldn’t like me in the morning,” Tony grumbled in his arms. Next to them on the nightstand the ice clinked together as it melted. Steve was pretty sure he’d like Tony better in the morning after a nice hot shower and some breakfast that wasn’t soaked in alcohol. But he’d take what he could get for now. 

“I like you just fine Tony.”

Tony turned around and gave him a look that screamed disbelief. He opened his mouth to argue the point and Steve took the opportunity to press their lips together. He leaned back and Tony stared at him in wonder. “I don’t let just anybody sleep next to me, you know. It’s got to be somebody I trust.”

“And that’s me, huh?”

Steve nudged Tony’s brow with his lips and twined their legs together under the sheets. He thought of the shining red and gold armor at his back in battle. Stifling a yawn, Steve grinned into the space between them.

“Yeah, Tony, that’s you.”


End file.
